Convaluisset
by The K2
Summary: AU after GOF. Harry is wrongfully accused, sent to prison. When he gets out he decides to fight Voldemort with his full strength. He realises he needs to be prepared so he asks the greatest wizard he knows-Albus Dumbledore for help. Read as Harry goes on a Journey of Healing, fights a war, meets new people and realises that not all labels are true. Rated T. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

Convaluisset

Chapter 1- Prologue

Harry Potter escaped from the graveyard. The only mistake he made was that he used the killing curse to fend off Voldemort. He escaped but now the ministry has put the blame of Cedric's death on him. The wizarding community has turned against him. His godfather, Sirius Black tries to free him but fails. Black is a free man. Severus had seen Pettigrew that night at the whoomping willow and had made him confess before Pettigrew had escaped. His testimony had got Sirius released of all charges. Harry is facing a term in Azkaban. Dumbledore has tried his best but has failed. The minister has still sentenced Harry to prison from 1st July to November 31st. Harry was not even given a trial. Dumbledore and Sirius and the Weasleys had protested against this but they had no power to outrule the minister. Dumbledore had been removed from the Wizengamot. Harry's wand had been destroyed. Even after his release he could not attend Hogwarts as the ministry stated that he was a danger to the other students.

 **Dumbledore's Office**

"Albus, you have to do something. We can't let Harry go to prison. We just can't. He is innocent. Due to realise what they are doing. They are sending a fourteen year old boy to prison. An innocent fourteen year old boy. He will not survive Azkaban. All the other prisoners will kill him. They hate him. They think Harry's the reason their Lord had disappeared, that Harry is the reason they were captured. He won't survive Albus." The look on Minerva McGonagall said the rest. She was exasperated. How could they do this to a boy? The boy was innocent. The man standing at the other corner of the office spoke.

"May I add something Headmaster," his voice as calm as ever.

Minerva glared at the man. It was a marvel that he did not recoil. "Severus, I swear if you say that Harry deserves to go to prison, working as a spy for us would be the least of your worries."

The man's face showed no emotion. It was as impassive as ever. He ignored her and continued. "Headmaster, I am not a fan of Potter or his father or his father's friends or his friends as a matter of fact but I most certainly think that he does not deserve to go to Azkaban."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Severus have you let the past go and forgotten your grudges for once."

"No, I still firmly believe that Potter is a mediocre boy who slacks just like his father, does things for attention has no regards for authority whatsoever, disregards rules, he is disrespectful but he is most certainly not a murderer, not a cold blooded murderer. Therefore I suggest you do something Headmaster to save the boy from this hell he is on the verge of entering."

"What can I do Severus?" His hands were on his face. It had been a long day. "Harry confessed that he cast the killing curse. That alone would get him to Azkaban. Plus the minister won't see his memories. He is not going to hold a trial so Harry could testify. There is no proof of Voldemort coming back, there is just Harry's word which might be good enough for us but is not for them. Cornelius is a fool, who thinks I want his job. There is no way to convince him. The only thing we can do is to make sure that Harry heals after Azkaban."

Severus slowly said, "If he survives."

"Always remember that we are there for you Harry. Ok. Just think that you are innocent and that will keep you going. You can fight this. You are strong. Stronger than me, stronger than your father, stronger than Voldemort." Sirius kissed his godson's forehead. The ministry aurors had come to take him away.

"This is not fair. This is so not fair, Harry." Hermione had been crying for sometime.

"Yeah well, Hermione when has life been fair to me." He tried to smile but couldn't. He did not know what he was about to face.

The others had said there goodbyes. Ron was the only one left. He hugged Harry. It was just like when they had hugged after the first task. Just this time, it was tighter. Ron was hugging him as if he let him go he would lose him forever. They slowly parted. Ron had tears in his eyes but he did not cry.

"When you get out and people find the truth about You-Kn…." He saw the expression on Harry's face. "Volde… Voldemort, we will sue Fudge. We will have the Wizengamot so far up his ass that he would have to turn his head to the left to cough."

Harry laughed at this. It was the first time he had laughed in the last two days. The laughter died.

"Goodbye mate."

"Goodbye."

He left and did not look back. He could not see their faces. It had been his mistake. He had been so consumed in his rage that he had used the Avada Kedavra. He had brought this upon himself. He was going to Azkaban and nothing was going to change that.

The first week had been hell. He had never felt so cold in his entire life. It had been a nightmare. He could feel every happy thought, every happy memory been sucked out of him. The prisoners had done nothing so far. There had been occasional slangs, death threats, but nothing dangerous of the sort. But he had a feeling something would happen. He had talked to few of the prisoners. They knew that their lord had returned. They kept on saying how he was going to reward them for their loyalty. The cell door opened and the dementors brought the food or trash, there was no difference. The coldness had again spread. He could hear his mom screaming, could see Voldemort coming back to life. Then the feeling was gone. Tears fell down his cheeks. He was not going to survive this. He was not going to make it out alive. Sometime later the cell door opened again. This time the dementors did not come in but two men. Their beards grown long looking at him maniacally.

"Potter, now we get our revenge. You brought down our lord. You are the reason for our suffering."

They reached for Harry. He tried to fight them off but was unsuccessful. He was no match for two grown men. One of them held his arms while the other started punching him. The man kept on punching Harry till what seemed like eternity. He could feel blood filling his mouth. He could feel cuts on his face. He could feel his broken nose and his stomach hurt. Until the men were dragged away by someone or something. They were screaming. The feeling of coldness had returned. The feeling of dread had returned. The dementors had arrived. They had taken the two men away. He lay there inside his cell cursing fate for being so cruel to him, till darkness enveloped him.


	2. Chapter 2

Convaluisset

Chapter 2- Return

Life in prison had been hell. It had been the worst kind of hell he could have imagined. The dementors were only a part of the problem. Somehow in every two or three days his cell doors opened, allowing the other prisoners inside. He had been beaten up more times than he could remember. He got almost no treatment. Another prisoner who could suggest muggle methods tried to help but it had not yielded results. His body was battered, broken. He had grown very thin. A beard also accompanied his face now. His mind in shambles. His birthday had passed and it had been the worst birthday of his life. He had never remembered feeling so much pain, not physical pain but mental pain. He hated himself. If he had not casted the killing curse, if he had not given in to his rage he would not be here. He would be at Hogwarts sleeping soundly in his four poster bed, going to classes with Ron and Hermione. He hated himself. But Hogwarts seemed so useless now. So unnecessary now. It felt as if it did not matter anymore. All he wanted was to get out of here and end Voldemort. He wanted to end the maniac's reign of terror. Fudge was going to pay for his actions. But how was he going to manage anything. He did not have his wand. His wand, the wand which had provided him protection against Voldemort, the wand which had saved his life that night in the graveyard. He did not know how he was going to do it but he was not going to give up. He had people who were going to stick by his side no matter what. They were going to help him no matter what.

* * *

The day of his release had finally come. He was going to get out of this hellhole. He was going to breathe fresh air again. He heard movement outside his cell. By instinct he balled his fists ready for another beatdown. But what was the point he had no energy to protect himself. He did not know how to fight. But when the cell door opened. He saw three men standing outside, looking nothing like the prisoners who used to attack him. One man had very long hair and beard both white. Another man had dressed very formally, wearing a bowler cap and the third man had long hair not nearly as long as the first wizard. This man quickly moved forward and hugged Harry tightly. Harry winced louldly as his wounds touched roughly against the man's torso.

"Harry, I am so sorry I did not mean to hurt you," the man spoke quickly. His voice was very heavy filled with emotion. He examined Harry and saw the multiple wounds on his body. "Harry, who did this? Who gave you these injuries?"

The man wearing the bowler scoffed. "He must have injured himself. Probably for attention when he gets out of here. How he was beaten up by the prisoners or something." The loathing in the man's voice matched Snape's.

Sirius angrily turned towards the man, pointing his finger at Fudge's chest. "Cornelius, you speak one word to my godson and I swear you are going to regret it."

The man looked frightened but managed to say, " Don't threaten me Black, I am the Minister for Magic, you can't harm me in any way."

Finally the tall wizard spoke. "Sirius, first let's get Harry out of here then we will talk. He does not need to stay here listen to you too babble."

The younger man nodded quickly. "Yes, Professor you are right."

Sirius helped Harry out of the prison.

"Dumbledore, I must inform you that the criminal will not use a wand for over a year. He cannot attend Hogwarts at all."

"Yes, minister. However, I must warn you. When the truth comes out and believe me when I say that it will, you will face justice for your actions. Truth cannot be hidden for long."

It was not a threat, but it seemed to have more of an effect on Fudge and than Sirius's threat. Fudge quickly left the prison while Harry and Dumbledore took Harry to St Mungo's to get him treated.

* * *

"Professor Dumbledore, Mr Black I am afraid that his injuries are rather extensive," the healer spoke quietly.

"But it cannot be magical injuries. The other prisoners could not have used magic."

"No, none of his injuries have been caused by magic. But the injuries have gone unfixed for such a long time that it has made it difficult for us to heal him quickly. He has about twelve broken bones. That includes two broken ribs. He also has a broken nose, a shattered clavicle. There was lots of internal bleeding. And also lack of proper food has also damaged him. He will have to stay the weekend."

"Ok. Please take care of him. He has suffered a lot."

The healer left quickly and Sirius started sobbing. He did not cry often but he could not help himself. His godson had undergone the same things that he had. He had failed James and Lily, he had failed to protect their son. Dumbledore finally spoke.

"Sirius, I would ask you to go home but I know you better than that. You stay here, but get some rest m'boy. You need it. I cannot say that Harry is going to be fine. But I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure he recovers. I promise you."

"Thank you Professor."

"Good night my boy."

Dumbledore left the room, Sirius turned to Harry's bed. He was sleeping soundly. He had been given a dreamless sleep potion. Sirius was sure it was the first time he had slept peacefully in months. He slowly stroked his forehead and wished the best for his godson.


	3. Chapter 3

Convaluisset

Chapter 3- The Plans

It had been a week since Harry had come to Grimmauld Place. He had learned that house belonged to Sirius's family who resembled the Malfoy's, Pureblood fanatics despising muggles and everything about them. That was why Sirius had been an outcast. Sirius had hated everything about them. They had thrown Sirius out when he had been 16. The house was pretty large. Spread across three floors. It was located in muggle London but nobody could see it. It was protected by numerous spells and ancient enchantments. During the week Remus, the Weasleys, Professor McGonagall and some people had come to visit him. He had also learned that the place was the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. It was an organization created by Dumbledore when Voldemort had first risen to power. Sirius had told him that meetings took place there. Harry had started to open up a little. He talked to Sirius. He had received letters from Ron and Hermione. They had told him that the new DADA teacher was not letting them use spells and was only teaching them the theory. Sirius had explained to him that Fudge had placed Umbridge at Hogwarts to act as his spy. To inform him about the things going around in the castle. Fudge believed that if the students were not taught how to use magic then the students could not help Dumbledore overtake the ministry. Harry's blood boiled when he listened to this. How could Fudge be so naïve? How could he be so stupid? Sirius had told him that Fudge wasn't in his right mind. He had been twisted and warped by fear. And fear made people do terrible things. Sirius had also told him that Dumbledore would come over to discuss things with the both of them. After finishing dinner Harry and Sirius were sitting at the dining table when Dumbledore entered the dining room through the fireplace. He greeted them both and quickly took a seat.

"Harry, thank you for agreeing to listen to me tonight. My boy I once again apologise for the pain I have caused you…."

"Sir you did not cause me any pain. Voldemort caused me pain. He is the one who did this. He is the only one to blame for everything."

Dumbledore became silent for a moment but then continued, "Harry, you are an exceptionally brave man. You have shown courage most grown ups never dream of."

Everyone was quiet for a moment but then Dumbledore began again, "Harry, as you already know that the Ministry destroyed your wand. It has also banned you from buying a wand for a year." Harry did not respond to this. He tried to maintain his calm. "But as we all have realised that your training is very essential for the coming war. We cannot hope that luck will favour us always. But first we need to solve the problem of your wand. He took out a wand from underneath his robes. He handed it to Harry. He then took another wand from his robes.

"Now Harry use that wand to disarm me."

"Sir, but won't the ministry find out that I used magic. Won't I be arrested."

"As a matter of fact you won't be Harry. The ministry will detect magic. But since you are in Sirius's home they won't be able to tell that who cast the spell."

"Really," Harry said clearly astonished.

"Yes, now quickly Harry disarm me. I will answer the rest of your questions then."

Harry quickly cast the Expelliarmus and the wand flew out of the Professor's hand and Harry caught it. But Harry was disappointed because the spell had been weak.

"Well done Harry, well done. Now you have become the rightful owner of this wand."

"How come sir?"

"See Harry, when you win a wand from a wizard or witch their wand changes its allegiance and becomes yours. Killing is not very effective here however. Suppose if you disarmed me and then Sirius killed me, the wand will not belong to Sirius but it will belong to you. Now Harry give me the wand which you used."

Harry returned the wand to Dumbledore. "Sir, who did this wand originally belong to."

"It was mine Harry."

"Your's?"

"I won this one, long time ago. I prefer this one. You can keep that one. Now since that has been settled, we need to talk about your education."

"Yes, sir."

Sirius spoke from behind, "But Professor the Ministry has said that Harry cannot go to Hogwarts and we don't know when Voldemort will come out of the shadows."

"Yes, I know Sirius but we cannot neglect Harry's education. He needs to be prepared for what is coming. We must do everything to help him."

"But how Professor?"

"We take Harry to another country."

"What?" Both yelled simultaneously.

"I believe that the Black Family has a house in Bulgaria as well."

"Yes, we do." Sirius said slowly.

"Bulgaria is out of the jurisdiction of British Ministry of Magic. They cannot extradite Harry from there. Harry I take it you can manage Defence on your own given that you trained extensively for the tournament."

Harry froze. The memories came flooding back. Cedric dying, Voldemort coming back, ghosts of his parents. "Yes, sir."

"You are very capable in charms as well. Professor Snape has told me albeit a bit reluctantly that you are average in Potions."

Harry smiled. Snape had complimented him. All three of them knew that coming from was a compliment.

"Knowing his dislike for you and his dislike for almost all students, it means you are good at Potions as well."

"Last year Potions became fun. It was no longer boring or tiring. It became fun so I improved a lot."

"So Harry answer me honestly, can you manage these three subjects on your own. With the help from guides and reference books, of course."

Harry thought about it for a while. "Yes, sir I can manage. It will be hard but I will do it."

"Good, I expected you to take up the challenge, Harry. Now the other subjects, Transfiguration…"

Sirius louldly coughed and started straightening his jacket. Harry laughed while Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes, as Sirius just indicated right now, he can teach you Transfiguration, he will also help in you defence or the other subjects when you need it. For Herbology, I think we may need to hire a tutor. There are many tutors in Bulgaria and other countries of Europe because many families do not want to send their kids to Durmstrang. For astronomy we will hire a tutor as well. History of Magic I am afraid Harry, you will have to do it by yourself. It will as boring to have a teacher explain it as it will be to read by yourself. And Harry what are your electives."

"Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Do you want to carry on with these subjects?"

"I can drop them?"

"No, you can take other subjects such as Runes or Arithmancy. Both are useful compared to the two you have taken."

"Sir I will take the subjects- Runes and Muggle Studies."

"Are you sure, cause it will be put a great deal of strain on your mind."

"I admit Runes will be a handful but I think I will do well in Muggle Studies."

"You are right Harry."

"Harry I must also ask you to contact Viktor Krum."

"Why Sir?"

"For your Physical Training."

"Physical Training?"

"Yes, he will help you improve your physique, build. Those are helpful in battle as well."

"Ok, I will write to Krum tonight itself."

"Good. Sirius ask Kreacher to check the Black House in Bulgaria, if needed ask him to clean it properly, assist him if you have to." Seeing the look on Sirius's face he added. "Sirius, Kreacher is also a living being with the same feelings as that of a human. Treat him properly."

"I will go and buy the stuff needed tomorrow."

"If I might suggest, Sirius you don't pay for Harry's books or Potions supplies, you pay for his tutors, and get him some new clothes. Move out of here in three days time. Tell no one, Harry you may inform your friends after you have moved there okay."

Harry was a bit uncomfortable but managed to say yes.

"Harry, I must warn you, that it will be very difficult for you in the beginning. Very, it will be hectic, tiring and painful but you must hold on because after sometime it will be alright."

"Sir, who will teach me Runes?"

Dumbledore smiled and pointed to the man standing behind Harry.

"Sirius, you took Runes as well."

Sirius again did his fake cough. Speaking in a fake voice of superiority, "If you must know, I never came second in Runes in my entire life. Your father was a shade better than me at Transfiguration. In defence him, Moony and me and Snape were the best students but in Potions and Charms we were no where near the level of your mum or Snape."

"So that is settled. You both go to Diagon Alley and buy all the necessities. Harry leave your wand here when you go okay."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh Harry, I will be teaching you something as well."

"What sir?"

"Occulumency and History."

"History, I thought you said that I would have to do History on my own."

"Oh no, it is a different type of history, one which you are going to enjoy." He rose from his chair and bowed.

"Good night and good luck."


	4. Chapter 4

Convaluisset

Chapter 4- DEVELOPMENT

 _Dear Harry_

 _Hogwarts is becoming as boring as ever. A new thing happened today. We had our quidditch match and we won and by the way did I tell you that Ginny was the seeker. But after the match, Malfoy as you know how sore a loser he is, he started taunting Mrs Weasley so Fred and George lost it and they attacked him. So Umbridge gave them both a life ban. They cannot play quidditch. I think the Gryffindor team will lose badly. And other interesting things have started to happen, Ron has started studying._

Harry laughed at this. Hermione had mentioned in her previous letter how had gotten serious about his studies.

 _An incident happened in the DADA class as well. I kind of lost it when Umbridge said that put your wands away. I asked her what was the point of having magic if we could not use it ever. And the others argued with me, a Slytherin girl also piped up saying they should be given some practice, I think her name is Daphne Greengrass. So Umbridge said that there was a risk that we might turn out like you, nasty criminals. At that Ron shouted how stupid Umbridge and the minister was for not believing you and how when truth comes out, they will be begging for forgiveness but will not get it. Umbridge took a couple of points from Gryffindor and assigned him detention. Ron has not yet told me what she made him do in detention. Other things are going well, it looks like the house elves are taking my hats. I hope you are doing well Harry. I suggest you start studying as well, I know you can't practice but at least you can do the theory._

 _Goodbye_

 _Hermione_

 _P.S- I hate Umbridge._

Harry folded the letter and kept it aside. He was happy that Ron had stood up for him. He was beyond happy. From what Ron and Hermione had told him about Umbridge made him hate her. Things were going well for him also. He had sent a letter to Viktor the previous night. Sirius had asked Kreacher to check the house in Bulgaria and inform him what kind of cleaning it required. Kreacher had come back mumbling about how dirty the house was and somehow Sirius was responsible for tarnishing the Black House's reputation. Sirius and him were soon going to leave for Diagon Alley.

"Why did you take so much muggle money anyway? I don't think that the tutors are going to take muggle money."

"No, I know that. But you need some new clothes very bad and honestly I prefer muggle clothing. They are a little less formal."

"Thank you Sirius."

"Kid you don't have to ever thank me for everything."

They had taken money out of their vaults. They were going to Flourish and Blotts to buy the books he would be needing.

The shop was did not have many people as one would have expected. Well it was December, why would many people be here. They quickly took the books mentioned in the school list. Sirius also put a few books which he thought would be useful. They were mostly related to runes. Sirius also took some guides for potions and transfiguration. When Harry went to look at some books related to Defence, Sirius told him that he would not need them as Sirius would teach him whatever required. Harry paid for the books and they left for Madam Malkin's store. They bought a couple of dress robes. When they had finished they bought the potions ingredients. They left Diagon Alley and went to a muggle store to buy some clothes. Harry found out that Sirius loved shopping. He made Harry try dozens of shirts or t-shirts before he actually agreed to buy one. He was not easily satisfied. He wanted Harry to look his best. He abused the Dursleys continuously for what they had done to Harry. They actually spent more time buying clothes than they had spent at Gringotts, Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's combined. Sirius knew that Bulgaria at this time of the year would be freezing so he insisted on buying loads of sweaters, coats and whatnot. When Harry was finished Sirius, impressed by the collection the store had started trying things for himself. After nearly four hours spent at the shop, Sirius and left for Grimmauld place.

They quickly packed their stuff in bags. Sirius transfigured Harry's books and other things into small articles which weighed very less so that they could be easily fitted into the bags and trunks. After dinner Sirius went to his room while Harry stayed in the kitchen reading a potions book which he had asked Sirius to leave out. When the clock struck twelve he went to bed.

At night he had nightmares about his time in prison, about Voldemort rising and he saw a long corridor. This was new. He had never seen a corridor in his dreams before. He somehow managed to sleep.

The next morning Sirius woke him up at around seven. They had to go to the house in Bulgaria to clean it. Sirius had told him that Kreacher could not clean the house by himself. He got out of bed and quickly took a bath and changed. They almost spent the entire day cleaning. The house was not as large as Grimmauld Place but was spacious nonetheless. It had four rooms. Sirius had told him they would take the rooms which were on the first floor. The two rooms on the second floor would be used for training. One was for potions and the other was for the rest subjects. They took their stuff to the Black Manor that night itself. The floo had been connected to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. His studies and proper training would start tomorrow.

* * *

Ronald Weasley was pissed. His hand hurt. He missed his best friend. His week long detention with Umbridge had finally ended. The toad had made him carve into his own skin-"I must not tell lies." But the truth was that he did not regret a single moment of it. He had not believed in his friend a year ago but he was going to do everything to support him now. He had told Hermione about what Umbridge had been making him do last night. She had been livid. She had asked him to talk to McGonagall. He had a half a mind to but he did not want to. It was confusing. He knew it was exactly what Umbridge wanted. There were other things to worry about. The Gryffindor Quidditch team did not have their beaters. Umbridge had banned Fred and George for life for punching Malfoy. That git who had been making fun of his mother. He had deserved it. But they now needed two new players and Angelina had to hold trials again. Plus there was the tension for OWLs. Though he did not like to admit it, he enjoyed studying. He now realised that he had never tried properly. Yeah, he was no way near good as Hermione, he would never be, but he realised that he had a knack for transfiguration. McGonagall had been impressed with his improvement. Hermione kept on telling him that she was very proud of him. His performance in Potions had also improved. He could say that because Snape no longer made any comments about his potions. Sure, he was still lousy at divination, but who wasn't, and History was still boring. But overall he had improved a lot. Then there was this girl from Slytherin who had asked him once about how Harry had been. She had sounded genuine. Her name was something Greengrass. Well she was a Slytherin, so he had told her that it was none of her business. But he had felt bad cause she had sounded sincere and concerned. Then there was Hermione. He did not know how to explain it, but things were changing this year. Maybe it was because they were spending all of their time together. But he was attracted by her. She was beautiful. She was still bossy and stuff, and still a bit pestering about studies but she was different now. He did not know how to put it. He had no idea how she felt about him but he sure had realised how he felt about her. Oh the woes a being a teenager.


	5. Chapter 5

Convaluisset

Chapter 5- The Dream

Harry was woken the next morning by Sirius. Sirius told him that Krum had refused to train him because his Quidditch training had started early and he had no time. So Sirius had decided that he would train him. He guided Harry to the main entrance of the house. The house was located on top of a hill. A road had been carved on the hill that led to the plains and there was a lake down there as well.

"Well Harry, you better start off by running down the entire length and coming back up. Ok. If you don't return in twenty minutes I will come looking for you."

"But it is cold. My lungs will freeze."

"Yeah, they probably will but you still have to do it."

"This is basic torture, you know right."

"Yeah, now go."

Harry started and the moment he began to pick up pace he felt his lungs seizing. It was so cold that he could barely breathe. Even so making it down the hill was not so hard as was running back up. On the return trip he collapsed before halfway. He fell on the ground panting. Two or three minutes later, he saw the smiling face of Sirius.

"I knew you couldn't do it."

Harry sat up with great difficulty.

"I am very moved by your faith in me."

"Oh come on, you will get better if you keep on practicing."

Sirius guided him to the house. Harry sat in the kitchen while Kreacher made breakfast. It was so annoying. He hated being so weak. Sirius apparently noticed this.

"It is okay to fail sometimes, you know."

"Yeah right."

"No, I am serious. If you don't fail you will never succeed. Harry you will not win every time. You will lose. But picking yourself up after you are beaten is what matters."

But Sirius's words did not do much help.

"Well, after breakfast you better get started on your studies. Your herbology tutor will come at around eleven I suppose. So try to be prepared for that."

"Since when are you the one who is serious about studies."

"Well, if I had my way there would be no war, and you would be playing Quidditch for England but that's not how it is. We have to do with what we have."

After breakfast was over Harry went to his room and started reading the book Sirius had picked for him. After he had read substantial amount of theory, he retreated to the room upstairs and asked Sirius to help him practice. He practiced the spells he had read about. He managed to do all the spells properly except the Flippendo jinx. He just couldn't manage to perfect it. Sometimes he was not able to do the spell or when he did manage to create it the spell did not have power. Around eleven his herbology tutor arrived. Alexander Peytrov was a dangerous looking man. He was tall, well built and had a war look on his face. The man was sweet enough. He did not ask Harry about the case and imprisonment. He taught the subject very well, though he talked way too fast for Harry to hold on and listen. The rest of the day passed smoothly as well. They had not found a astronomy tutor so far so they could not do anything about it. The rest of the day passed smoothly. Harry to his utmost surprise understood Ancient Runes easily. Dumbledore had told them that he would visit them during the weekend to teach him Occulumency.

Ten days had passed since Harry and Sirius had arrived in Bulgaria. The weather was as brutal as ever, cold and chilling and morning runs up and down the hill did not help as well. Harry had not yet made it back to the hill top. As far the other subjects were concerned Harry was satisfied with how he was managing. Runes had proved to be quite a challenge. But Harry seemed to enjoy the subject nevertheless. He breezed past muggle studies. It was the easiest thing he had ever read. He knew almost everything mentioned in the third year book. Alexander had been a delight as well. Though he was still struggling in herbology Harry had hope that things would get better. But Dumbledore's lessons had proved to be quite the challenge. The Occulumency lessons were going poorly. He was not able to clear his mind and he was suffering because of it. The sessions always ended with Harry on the ground and Dumbledore profusely apologizing. He had gotten a little better but still could not keep a single thought away from Dumbledore. The history lessons had turned out to be the exact opposite of what he had expected. Dumbledore had started showing him Voldemort's past. He had told Harry that it was essential to defeat him. After another tiring day he went to bed.

* * *

He was sliding along the floor slowly. Things were a blur. It was a long corridor. Again he went to sleep. Someone was screaming, loudly. Screaming loudly in pain. Harry opened his eyes to see a man lying in a pool of blood. Harry rose his head and struck again.

"Harry get up. Harry get up."

Harry woke up. He put his glasses on and saw Sirius, who was looking really worried. He must have been screaming like he used to at Azkaban.

"Harry, what happened?"

"I don't know. I saw someone getting attacked."

"You saw someone. Who?"

"I don't know everything was a blur. I saw a long corridor, I have been seeing it for months. I don't know. It was as if I had attac.."

"Harry, get some sleep. Please. I will contact Professor Dumbledore. You try to sleep."

"Sirius I attacked that man."

"Harry you did not attack anyone. No one outside the three of us and Kreacher knows that we are here. And of course Alexander. No one can apparate you out of here."

"Sirius…" Harry tried but Sirius cut him off.

"Try to get some sleep. I will contact Dumbledore."

But Harry could not sleep. He got up. And moved down to the hall where the lanterns had been lit. Sirius was sitting on the couch, with a hand on his forehead.

"Sirius who has been attacked." Harry internally wished that Sirius did not give him the answer.

"We don't know. I have sent the message to Dumbledore, he might take some time to respond."

"We can't floo to him."

"No, we can't. Floo is not connected."

"Sirius I feel like I attacked the man."

"Harry that is not possible. I told you."

"No, you don't understand, it was like I was the snake."

Sirius did not respond and they sat there quietly for another ten minutes when a small phoenix, patronus arrived.

"Arthur has been attacked."


	6. Chapter 6

Convaluisset

Chapter 6- Moments and Choices

Harry was adjusting his tie when he heard a knock on the door.

"Yeah."

"I am going to be in the hall, when you are ready come down." Sirius said softly.

"I will be down soon."

Harry tried to set his hair one last time before he gave up and went outside. Sirius was waiting outside sitting on the couch, in his best robes.

"Hey Harry."

"Hey Sirius."

"Well we better get going."

"Yeah we should. Where will be taking the portkey?"

"Just down the hill."

"Okay, lets go then."

Both of walked slowly down the hill without speaking a single word. They took the portkey, a hairbrush. It took them to a hill near The Burrow. They walked quietly to the house.

"I will be in the dining area, it will be best if you go and meet Ron."

"Yeah, I guess I will see you soon."

Harry made his way upstairs. Ron was sitting on his bed. He was already dressed. Harry decided it was better to knock rather than barging in. when he knocked, Ron slowly turned his head around and nodded. Harry sat on the bed. Both of them breathing slowly. They had not seen each other since he had gone to Azkaban, he had wanted to see his best mate for so long, but he wished it had been under happier circumstances.

"Hey mate."

"Hey Harry."

"You ready to go."

"Yeah. Did you see anyone downstairs."

"No, I didn't see anyone."

"Harry I want to thank you for everything."

"For what." Harry asked surprised.

"Because of you we were able to see him before…." but he could not continue. He broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably, with his head on Harry's shoulder. "I just miss him so much, Harry I loved him, I never got to tell him that I loved him." Harry did not know what to say. He thought about all the time he had spent with Mr Weasley. How he had been kind to him since the moment he had met him. He tried to console Ron the best he could. He was rubbing his back. "He knew Ron. He knew that you loved him. He knew. And he loved you too, all of you." Ron slowly drew back, wiping away the tears.

"Is Hermione here?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she is in Ginny's room. I needed to ask you something."

"Anything."

"I would…. I mean we would…."

"You can tell me anything."

"Yes, we would like you to be pallbearer."

"But how can I be a pall bearer." Harry asked still trying to hide his shock, that the Weasleys considered him like their own as they were ready to let him be a pallbearer.

"Well mom kicked Percy out of the family. He came two days back to explain to her that how siding with Dumbledore had cost dad his life. That they should have known better. That we could still side with Fudge. Mom lost it. She slapped the hell out of him, told him to never show his face again. Well that was that."

"Oh.." Harry did not know what to say. Ron had told him in his letters that Percy had a falling out with his family. But he had no idea that Percy would do such a thing. "I would be honoured Ron."

He gave a watery smile. "Anyway how is living with Sirius?"

"Not as great as it sounds. I have to study all day. I was very behind you guys but I am catching up."

"That is good to know."

"Hermione tell me you have started studying seriously."

Ron actually laughed at that. "Well I guess Hermione has started rubbing of on me. But you know I am enjoying myself. Really I am."

"That is good to know."

"I guess we should head down, everyone would have arrived by now."

"Yes." Both of them got down to see that most people had assembled already. Harry saw a lot of order members, notably Moody, Kingsley, Dedalus, Jones, Tonks and to his surprise Remus. The way it looked Tonks and Remus were holding hands. Why were they doing that?

He met Mrs Weasley. She cried when she saw him. Just like Ron she thanked him. When the time came he along with the rest of the Weasley brothers minus Percy carried the coffin and placed it in the ground. The twins were crying as well. Bill was looking teary while Charlie just stood there with a blank expression on his face. Harry saw Professor Dumbledore. When everyone sat down, he began.

"Arthur Weasley was a great man. He will always be remembered for the kindness he showed to people. In spite of being born in a pureblood family his fascination with muggles was.. unheard of. He was a man who you could always go for an advice. And most importantly, Arthur Weasley showed us that we could be decent men in indecent times. He proved that no matter how tough things got we should always do the right thing. He never gave up hope, and we will never give up hope as well. We will honour his memory by always doing what is right. We will always remember Arthur Weasley."

By the time he had finished almost everyone around Harry was crying, Mrs Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione. He had started biting his tongue so that he didn't cry. Everyone stood up and started offering their condolences to Mrs Weasley and the others. That was when Harry saw someone moving through the crowd very quickly. She was a wearing a very bright pink dress, whatever the hell it was. She gave Harry and Remus a scathing look before she moved on to Mrs Weasley.

"Molly, I am so sorry for your loss, I know this is a very hard time for your family. Arthur was a great man, he made a great contribution to our society. He will missed." Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

"Thank you. Dolores."

"Molly but I must ask you why are you spoiling such a solemn occasion?"

"I am sorry I don't understand." She looked in no mood to talk. Harry saw Dumbledore. The fury in his eyes was unlike anything he had ever seen. He had never in his life seen him so angry. It was like every inch of him was bursting with magic.

"Why have you invited criminals and half breeds today?" She said in a disgusted voice.

Before Mrs Weasley could even respond Ron had moved forward. But Harry somehow managed to hold him back. He did not want his friend expelled from Hogwarts.

"Ron." He tried to hold him back.

"No, Harry let me go, I am going to kill her. She cannot be here."

"Ron, you are going to make it worse for yourself."

"I don't care."

"But I do. I do care. Your father would not wanted this. I am going to leave. Alright, don't worry alright, just stay calm."

"You don't have to go."

"I have to. I don't want to create a big mess, alright. Its okay Ron I am going to go." He quickly moved away from the burrow he kept on walking. He took out his wand.

"Knight Bus."

A purple coloured triple decker bus appeared out of nowhere, with its ever annoying conductor Stan Shunpike.

"Welcome to The Knight Bus, emergency trans…"

But Harry cut him off, he did not want to hear any of it. "Godric's Hollow." He said with determination, he stepped inside and took a seat. Stan looked offended. But gave the driver instructions to move ahead. BANG. The bus moved with unprecedented speed. Harry clung onto the rail in front of his seat. He was pondering over what had happened at the funeral. His feral instincts were at the limit. The anger he was feeling towards Umbridge, towards Fudge towards the whole world. Why did things happen to the people who were close to him? Sirius had suffered,, his parents were dead, Cedric and now Mr Weasley. He was thinking when Stan said.

"We have arrived at Godric's Hollow."

Harry paid the amount and stepped out of the bus. He slowly walked around the village. He even walked around the cemetery. He saw many graves. Peverells, and other families. He even saw the graves of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. Before now he had no idea that Dumbledore even had a family. Now when he tried he remembered Dumbledore saying something about his brother being caught for casting illegal charms on goats. He kept on walking when he stopped at the graves of his parents. He sat down on the ground. He looked at their tombstones and his eyes watered. He didn't stop his tears from falling. He just sat there and cried. How long he sat there he did not know? But someone came and sat beside him, he turned around to see it was Remus. Just like him his eyes were watery. He was smiling at Harry.

"I figured you would be here. I reckon Sirius told you about this place."

Harry sniffed, "Yes, he did."

"Well you did disappear, Sirius had started worrying, and he couldn't leave, and Umbridge kept throwing me looks that made me want to puke. That woman is one bitch."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah Sirius told me about the legislation she had passed. I am sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." But Remus sensed that Harry was trying to deviate from the topic. "Really Harry how are you feeling?"

Harry tensed up. He had expected having this kind of conversation with Sirius or Dumbledore, but not with Remus. "I don't know honestly."

"You are going to miss him."

Harry nodded awkwardly. "Yeah I mean, I am going to miss him, but the more I think about it the more I realise that I brought this upon us, upon all of us. This darkness, this evil." He said slowly. Ever since the night in the graveyard, that was all he could think about.

Remus moved his head back and forth slowly. "I always took you as emotional, passionate but never took you as stupid."

Harry blinked back at him in surprise. "I am sorry?"

"Yeah you heard me. I never took you as stupid. Do you honestly believe that? That all of this is happening because of you. Harry I am sorry to tell you this but this is a lot bigger than you. All of this is bigger than you, it always was. What do you think that the war started after you were born? It was going on for a long time before you were even born. You did not start this."

"But why does this keep happening to me. I didn't choose this life. I didn't want any part in this. I wanted a normal life. All I ever wanted was a family, I did not want to be a hero." He had started crying again. Remus moved a bit forward and pulled him closer and hugged him. He did not let him go. Harry cried uncontrollably into his shoulder. He did not stop and he did not want to stop. Everything that he had bottled up was coming out at once. Maybe it was due to the fact that the person was Remus. A person who knew what it was like to be hated, to be scorned at, to be whispered about.

"I know you didn't want any of this. I know you wanted to have a normal life. But that's out of the window now." And Harry actually laughed. "But how can you say you don't have a family, huh. You got a bunch of redheads, an adorable bookworm, an acquitted mass murderer, a werewolf and a 114 year old man so how can you say that you don't have a family. We may not be the perfect family, not even the ideal one but we all love you Harry. And your Godfather, me and Dumbledore have loved you since the moment we have laid eyes on you. We have all babysit you. So don't say that you don't have a family."

"But Mr Weasley was there protecting something for me and he is now gone because of me."

"Harry you did not do this. Voldemort did, alright. Arthur may have lost his life in another battle. You don't what fate has in store for us and you can never know. Harry somethings in our life, we have no control over. Like what happened with James and Lily. You could not help that. Moments like that shape your life, of course they do, but they don't decide how you life will turn out. Only your choices can decide that. You can give all of this up. We can send you somewhere far from here, from everything but then what happens, you will live the rest of your life resenting yourself because I know the kind of person you are, you won't be happy while the others were suffering. You will spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder for Voldemort and the death eaters. Live the rest of your life in fear. Or you can stay here and fight. You can stay here and ensure that no one has a childhood like you did. You can make sure that the future generation does not suffer. That they don't suffer the way you did."

And for the first time in his life he realised that no matter what had happened in his past he would have wanted to end Voldemort. He had to let his past go. Because if it became an anchor he would never be able to move forward.

Remus spoke softly, his voice was heavy, coming here to his friends grave had done that to him. "Harry but no matter what happens, you must promise me that no matter, you will not change, not at the heart. Dark times are ahead of us but if we lose ourselves in this war then he wins."

The effect of Remus's words were heavy on him. For a while both of them just sat there without saying anything.

"What is the deal with you and Tonks?" Harry quipped and both of them started laughing.


End file.
